


expectations

by thisisgermy



Series: huuh whaaaaat [4]
Category: Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware, Self Aware AI
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Lazy story, Taking a rest, an alternate/add on scene to The End, benreys in it for like two lines, dr coomer strong, loss of limb, mini gun arm, stutters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:03:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24167803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisisgermy/pseuds/thisisgermy
Summary: congratulations.
Relationships: Gordon Freeman and Dr. Coomer
Series: huuh whaaaaat [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1739653
Comments: 5
Kudos: 126





	expectations

**Author's Note:**

> started: 13/5/2020  
> i just wanna thank hlvrai for officially getting me out of my one year slumber. so yeah, thanks.  
> no general warnings for this one

it was when dr coomer was standing in front of the stall door that it hit him all at once. that bone deep, nauseating kind of fatigue, so sudden and strong in its assault, it made him lean against the wall and stay there. he closed his eyes, and they became glued stuck. the sounds of the facility muffled into a dim quiet, his body feeling suspended, almost as if he was dying. maybe blood loss had finally caught up to him.

the world suddenly jolted back in full clarity as he pulled his eye-lids apart. he saw a very concerned dr coomer knelled in front of him, clicking his fingers in his face. he had no memory of sliding down the wall, and he had no intention of getting back up. dr coomer's mouth was moving a mile a minute, but gordon's ears were too full of cotton to hear the words. the stall door was open behind dr coomer, showing off an unassuming yet fascinatingly clean toilet, but even its cleanliness wasn't enough of a sane view for gordon to help ground himself, so he refocused back on dr coomer. 

'-don? gordon!' he sounded nervous. that was very unlike dr coomer. how long had he blanked out for? '... i say, you look rather sickly! are you alright?'

'...what? ........ look, c-can i just, stay here a sec, dr coomer?' dr coomer ran through various expressions in record time, eventually landing on a mix between anxiety and worry. he glanced around the room - from the door benrey was still crowding his gigantic head in (what a fucking awful sight), to the opened stall, then back to gordon.

'but-but dr bubby and tommy are in severe danger! it would be wise to go back right now and help them, before it's too late!'

'i know, i-i know i just, i just _really_ need a sec, coomer. _please_.' gordon hung his head, bringing his knees close to his chest. he hugged his legs tightly, the mini-gun making it awkward and the suit making it uncomfortable, but it was a better comfort than standing. it felt like he was asking his parents if he could stay home from school. the comparison made him feel that much smaller. 'i'm sure they can handle it on their own for a few minutes.'

dr coomer stayed silent for many seconds. 'i.' he was probably giving him a weird look, was probably about to go on a tirade of "buts" and "well"s, was probably going to degrade him over it or ask for another Play Coin(tm) transaction- '.......... yes, that seems. reasonable. it never _is_ healthy to do anything on an over stimulated brain! i believe taking a rest at this time is acceptable, even at everyone else's dire peril.' gordon's entire form sagged with a sigh of relief that was enough to render him immobile. 

'holy shit thank you dr coomer _thank_ you' he rushed in a gush of breath, resting his forehead against his knee. he was just in the zone enough to hear dr coomer move to his left and join him on the floor.

the pair simply sat, finding it nice to put everything on hold for a short time. far from outside the room, soft scuffles and the gentle tones of a bored, Black Mesa Sweet Voice(tm) could be heard, which gordon paid zero mind to.

'thank you, gordon.' dr coomer said, completely out of the blue. his words broke gordon from his mind. he wasn't sure how much time had passed since they'd sat down. that was becoming a regular thing.

'hmm?' 

'for your continuation. without you, we wouldn't be alive. literally!' dr coomer laughed with zero humour. 'i. i did want to save this for a later time, but, seeing as we're resting at the literal end point, i suppose i'll share this now.' gordon felt a hand land on his shoulder, which promoted him to turn his head and glance at him. dr coomer beamed with a real smile, so bright and true and blinding. 

'thank you for this amazing journey. for bearing with us through thick and thin. i know the science team hasn't been the best company for you, which, i suppose, makes this all the sweeter! ... but, you really _have_ changed our lives, gordon, and. i know it isn't over _quite_ yet, but, i do hope, after all of this is said and done, that you'll-' dr coomer cut himself off, and his smile dimmed. silence crept back up on them with the occasional shuffle heard in the distance. he stayed stone still, his stare going blank, and in that moment, gordon understood.

then dr coomer patted gordon's shoulder instead of finishing his speech, his life returning in full bloom. gordon knew he wouldn't continue, even if asked to. he smiled back, weakly, and let out another sigh. it would be rude, at this point, to pretend he didn't know what dr coomer was talking about.

'... yeah. me too, bud. thanks for being such a pain in the ass, i guess.' 

'ah, it was no problem, gordon!'

dr coomer left his hand on gordon's shoulder, and the two continued to sit, gordon's gaze falling to the white tiles. second by second, gordon relaxed out of his tense pose, until his arms laid limp in a broken ring. even as he reached a mental place of normalcy, dr coomer kept his hand on gordon's shoulder. it was a nice gesture and a reassuring weight that gordon very much appreciated.

'do you feel ready to take on the final boss now, gordon?' dr coomer asked, softly but with pressure lining the words. he felt his shoulder be tapped, and finally, dr coomer removed his hand. gordon took a moment to think about it. shit, they had been there a while, huh?

'not really, no.' he pushed the bottom of the mini-gun to the floor, and slowly began to clamber to his feet with a chorus of grunts and groans. dr coomer was up in a flash, already wrapping both hands around gordon's left arm to help tug him the rest of the way up. 

'splendid!' dr coomer chirped once he was sure gordon wouldn't topple over. 'i do love a good act of redemption!'

'wha- me? _redemption_? what the fuck- wouldn't that be for benrey and bubby-'

'now, if you're ready for the final act of our adventure, we can continue forwards! ... but ah, i still do need to, um. _relieve_ myself.' something in dr coomer's mind clicked, because somehow, his smile grew even sunnier. 'ah! yes! that's what i wanted to do before we left!' gordon didn't get a chance to react to dr coomer's rambles before he was being scooped up into a full bodied hug, pressed agonisingly close to dr coomer. the wind was crushed from his chest, his feet left dangling, and gordon was reminded of dr coomer's strength all over again.

'hurk fuck shit you're killin' me coomer-'

'we are now officially friends!'

'we weren't this entire time-???'

'ah, the marvels of socialising!'

dr coomer gave one last squeeze to gordon's poor, suffering body before plopping him back down to his unsteady feet. gordon staggered for a third time, his in tact arm slamming into the wall before his face did. by the time he'd caught his breath, dr coomer was already standing (yes, standing) on the toilet, his beam of a smile aimed his way. the stall door began to close with a _bbbbbb_ kind of sound, and it was. going sideways. why hadn't he noticed that before? what the _fuck_?

'onward's and upwards, ey, gordon!' 

'yo bros, can i join? i'm gettin' pretty lonely back here.' benrey echoed sadly, his entire face clipping through the closed door on the other side of the room to stare at gordon.

and gordon, without even looking in benrey's direction, pointed his mini-gun at benrey's face, and let lose several relentless spins of bullets.

**Author's Note:**

> i dunno what the fuck im gonna write for bubby cause i cant think of one scene where gordon and bubby are alone somewhere. ill figure it out i guess.  
> thanks for reading


End file.
